


falling in love to the beat of the music

by BluebarrieMuzzins



Series: Drops of Maple Syrup [1]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Bathtubs, Bubble Bath, Cuddling & Snuggling, Custom Shepard (Mass Effect), F/M, Fluff, Heartbeats, Kissing, Marriage Proposal, Naked Cuddling, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, it's Freddie, just a heads up, just her name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29136534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluebarrieMuzzins/pseuds/BluebarrieMuzzins
Summary: There were candles on the rim of the bathtub along with a bottle of her favourite wine and a couple of wine glasses. There was soft classical music playing from a speaker on the windowsill above the bathtub; how she hadn’t heard the music before was beyond her.“What do you think, Commander?” A voice from behind her asked.Freddie turned and saw her boyfriend, Kaidan, leaning against the doorframe, a soft smile on his face. She rushed over to him and wrapped him in a hug. Kaidan chuckled as he gently patted his girlfriend’s lower back. When they pulled apart, Freddie looked at Kaidan with a soft smile and a somewhat glassy-eyed expression.“Thank you so much, Kaidan,” Freddie said, wiping at her eyes.
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Female Shepard
Series: Drops of Maple Syrup [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138265
Kudos: 2





	falling in love to the beat of the music

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm here with another fic about Kaidan and Shepard. This time, though, it's Kaidan and Freddie Shepard (what I'm planning on naming my female Shepard when I do a playthrough with her)! I have no idea where this idea came from, apart from that Kaidan deserves to be represented in both facets of his sexuality. I hope you guys enjoy this because I really like how it turned out! As always, constructive criticism is welcome.
> 
> Title from "Beat of the Music" by Brett Eldredge.

Freddie was aching from head to toe because it had been a long day at work. While being in the Alliance Navy was rewarding, it did leave her feeling this way from time to time.

She was the commander of her own ship and it was incredibly exhausting. Some of the crew took to her leadership well, listening to what she said without question. The ones that didn’t take to her leadership were the ones she wished she could jettison into space and leave there for all eternity. They treated her like excrement day in and day out and the Alliance seemed not to care enough to transfer them to a different ship's crew.

As Freddie walked through her apartment on the Citadel, she shed her clothing layer by layer. She had decided that the second she got there after her shore leave was granted she was getting in the bathtub; she was hoping it would relax her tense muscles. By the time she reached the bathroom, she was fiddling with the clasp of her bra. She cursed herself for even wearing a clasped bra in the first place because she knew sports bras were so much easier for her line of work.

When the clasp  _ finally _ came unhooked, she groaned satisfyingly, slid the bra off and tossed it down the hallway. When she stepped into the bathroom, she blinked a couple of times at the sight before her.

There were candles on the rim of the bathtub along with a bottle of her favourite wine and a couple of wine glasses. There was soft classical music playing from a speaker on the windowsill above the bathtub; how she hadn’t heard the music before was beyond her.

“What do you think, Commander?” A voice from behind her asked.

Freddie turned and saw her boyfriend, Kaidan, leaning against the doorframe, a soft smile on his face. She rushed over to him and wrapped him in a hug. Kaidan chuckled as he gently patted his girlfriend’s lower back. When they pulled apart, Freddie looked at Kaidan with a soft smile and a somewhat glassy-eyed expression.

“Thank you so much, Kaidan,” Freddie said, wiping at her eyes.

Kaidan smiled before he leaned down and kissed Freddie’s forehead. Freddie managed to kiss his chin as he was pulling away; that earned her a soft tap on the nose. She giggled as she grabbed Kaidan’s hand.

“Come take a bath with me.” Freddie motioned to the bathtub with her head.

“Let me get undressed first,” Kaidan responded, looking at his clothes.

Freddie nodded, bringing their hands up and placing a soft kiss on Kaidan’s knuckles before smoothing her thumbs across them. They shared a fond look before Freddie dropped Kaidan’s hands and walked over to the bathtub, leaving Kaidan to disrobe.

Turning on the faucets, Freddie fiddled with them a little before she found the temperature she liked. When she was satisfied, she pushed the drain stopper down and added some bubble bath solution.

Kaidan walked over just as the tub was finished filling. Freddie turned the faucets off and she and Kaidan carefully slipped in to not splash water everywhere. Kaidan sat with his back against the back of the tub and Freddie sat with her back against her boyfriend's chest. She dropped her head against his shoulder and hummed happily.

Kaidan grabbed the wine bottle and the corkscrew that Freddie hadn’t noticed before. He reached over his girlfriend and uncorked the wine before pouring two glasses—one for him and one for her. He handed Freddie a glass and they clinked them together in cheers.

They fell into a comfortable silence, the only noise that could be heard being the classical music from the speaker above the bathtub. Kaidan had one arm wrapped around Freddie, holding her firmly. She felt warm and gooey and she was pretty sure it wasn’t from the wine. The longer she sat slotted together in the bath with Kaidan, his arm wrapped around her, the more domestic she was beginning to feel. Freddie was starting to realize that she wanted nothing more than these moments with Kaidan; to be held close, to be cared for, to be  _ loved _ .

“Will you marry me?” They asked in unison.

They put down their wine glasses and carefully looked at each other. Kaidan was smiling stupidly as he lifted one of the candles and produced an engagement ring.

Freddie lifted her hand out of the water; Kaidan chuckled when he saw that it was covered in bubbles. Freddie rolled her eyes and blew the bubbles into his face. Shaking his head dismissively, Kaidan stuck his tongue out at his girlfriend as he wiped the bubbles away. Freddie grinned and tapped Kaidan on his nose. Kaidan smirked and ruffled his girlfriend’s hair.

“Well?” Kaidan asked, holding up the ring out for Freddie to look at. “Yes or no, Commander?”

“If we asked at the same time,” Freddie said, looking at Kaidan pointedly, “what do you think the answer is?”

Kaidan chuckled and slid the ring on Freddie's finger. “Just needed to make sure.” He kissed Freddie as best he could given the awkward angle; the kiss was still one of the most meaningful they had ever shared.

When they were finished kissing, Freddie fell back into his arms and put her head on his chest. Kaidan kissed the top of his fiancée's head and wrapped his arms around her. Freddie hummed softly and wiggled around to get comfortable, some of the water and bubbles splashing out of the bathtub. Kaidan chuckled, squeezing Freddie closer to him. Freddie hummed, closing her eyes after a moment as she listened to the steady thrumming of Kaidan’s heartbeat.

The longer she listened, the more she felt herself drifting closer and closer toward sleep. She sighed and shifted her head a bit to get a little more comfortable. Kaidan began humming along softly to the rhythm of the music that was filtering through the speaker. Freddie fell asleep shortly after that, still wrapped tightly in her fiancé’s arms; there was just something about him humming classical rhythms that always did her in. 

The last thing Freddie remembered before her brain switched to subconscious thoughts was Kaidan whispering into her hair.

“I love you so much, Freddie.”

**Author's Note:**

> If my name is Freddie, well... that's neither here nor there, now is it?


End file.
